Their debut full length has rightfully garnered a fair amount of attention, but it doesn't seem like many people know about their first EP. This is great - visceral death metal with lots of twists and turns. A lot of the riffs have this cool tumbling vibe. There's a strong hardcore influence, and no, not the -core stuff; legitimate hardcore punk. A great start for this killer band.

Beastmilk - Climax

One of my favourite non-metal albums of the year. Some great post-punk stuff that knows how to rock. A bit of a gothic tinge and a tangible Danzig influence. "Love In A Cold World" and "Fear Your Mind" are particularly excellent tracks. The album has a dark tinge while still remaining catchy.

I think that this album, was by far one of the most accessible creation by them so far. You can easily note, how certain bands from different genres have influenced their style, for example, the song "Father of the Wolf", sounds a lot like certain accomplishments by Judas Priest.

Overall, this album was quite enjoyable, amazing solos, tremolo picked guitar riffs, and so on.. Hegg's vocals are as strong as ever, and the drums are as pounding as ever. The production pissed me off a little bit though, it was too freaking polished to be associated with such a band.

Megadeth - Rust in PeaceSo, the way I see it, trash metal was a wave. There was a bunch of people imitating parts of it, because they saw that the wave was great as well as popular. A few people were on top of it, perhaps because they were there when it rose up, including Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer. Megadeth, or at least Dave Mustaine was angry for a bunch of reasons. And this one time, they chanelled that anger to sync their minds with the wave in a way never seen before, again accentuating the core parts of it, developing the parts that were misunderstood and underlooked and creating something so perfectly harmonious with the wave where even the things usually considered negatives were in place and neccesary to forge it. I'm slightly irritated at my irritation at low production quality and also looking forward to delving into more thrash.

Insomnium - One for sorrowCame back to relisten it this week. It has the same insomnium quality as all of the other albums. The artists are really somewhat of a mystery to me. They were one of my first heavier bands (growling, etc). They're not really innovative or seminal. They do, however, manage to create this flowing, continuous emotion that doesn't ever change in essence and is never cut off, only develops and changes in shade through the song. And they do it not with lethargy, like post rock or some doom, black metal artists would do, but within the constrains of the lighter death metal techniques. One could say that the point of melodic death metal, but they always seemed especially continuous (within a song) to me. That's why I keep coming back to them once in a while. In case anybody can point out the techniques that create this, I'd be curious to know. Or if I'm imagining it, tell me too

So upon first glance, I realized (or re-realized) that I haven't listened to anything new in a long time. And by new I mean not from decades ago. so I gotta fix that. Also I probably listen to substantially lighter stuff than most here. No shame in that though!

"Metalogy" - Judas Priest

Oddly enough, another "best of", but this was part of a volume that was 4 disks, instead of the 1 cd with "Hit and Run" above... I got it for my birthday from a good friend some years ago. Definitely still treasure it, and I listen to all the disks pretty regularly! Good selection of some of their best songs. Don't know which is my favourite disk as they seem all equally great... This "best of" volume was definitely well planned.

"Dominion" - Kamelot

Is it just me or have all of the guys who ever sang for Kamelot sounded really similar at some points? Specifically on this album, I wasn't sure if I was listening to Mark Vanderbilt or Roy Khan, and became thoroughly confused. I mean I know Roy joined in 1998 and Mark left in 1997, and Dominion is from 1997, but seriously, what the Hell? I think I kept listening to this just to try to figure out if I was going crazy or not. I mean that can't be a coincidence, right? The fact that all 3 people who have sung for Kamelot, spanning across the albums, have sounded and/or looked really similar, right? Except Mark sounded a little less trained, like he was straining himself a bit more than Roy Khan would.

Edit: realized I made a mistake

_________________"Either they go or I go, ... If I'm acquitted, they go, because they know they'll never convict me. If I'm convicted, I will starve to death in prison, so I will go." - Dr. Jack Kevorkian

Alrighty, this looks like a good place for my first post (Hi everybody)

Ok, where to begin....

I guess you could say this week it's been all about Kreator, Death, and Iced Earth

Kreator - Enemy Of God

I keep coming back to this album. I love Phantom Antichrist, but this album just seems perhaps a bit more on the purely aggressive side. Maybe it's just me. Idk

Death - Leprosy

I've been doing alot of re-analysis of Death lately for no reason other than boredom. This album just reaffirms my love of Schuldiner and co. . The album is like a slightly sloppier Spiritual Healing. Gotta love the raw aggression of it. Pull The Plug indeed

Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden

I love Iced Earth and don't personally share alot of the views people have about their modern material. I'd been a Priest kick last week and that carried over to this album with Owens. I think the album deserves the flak it gets, but is also under-appreciated in other areas. My main point being that people often complain of IE having lost some of their thrashiness, etc, but damn - listen to this album. I have not air drummed or air screamed vocals like this in a while. When its good, its REALLY good. But therein lies the main fault of the album - inconsistancy. Half the tracks border excellent while the rest seem filler-esque to me....

Found this surprisingly cheap - $5.50 + $2.75 S/H - especially for an unopened copy, on eBay. Really digging it after several full listens - this is some seriously dark, aggressive, dare I say *evil* USBM. Ixithra's vocals are rather in the vein of Beherit or Blasphemy, low-down demonic rasps, and the nearly constant mid-tempo blasting of the drums has something in common with those bands as well. The guitars are tuned low by BM standards but not particularly death-ish, more a constant chainsaw pummeling reminiscent of the nastiest old-school hardcore bands (think Septic Death). I highly recommend this for basically all extreme-metal fans, it's definitely worth a 90 or so on the MA scale!

Anoxia - 'Intense Killings' (2004)

Another pretty sweet recent eBay find, this is some fairly brutal - if not necessarily Brutal - grinding death. Lots of speed, nasty gurgle/growl type vocals, in fact this kind of reminds me of Deranged but with less blatant Cannibal Corpse worship. Not exactly groundbreaking for the mid-2000's, really more of a later-90's style in terms of the U.S. scene at least. In a way they almost make me think of their countrymen Regurgitation/Necrotic Disgorgement, if maybe a little less obviously "bruuutaaalll." Haven't heard it enough to assign a rating yet, but I couldn't see myself giving this less than an 80 ("good to very good").

Have had this for several months but now re-listening. Surprisingly melodic, catchy funeral doom from Australia. Still heavy, still rather, well, "mournful," but the guitar lines are relatively undistorted, and more in the vein of "epic melody" than anything else - 4 songs in 60 minutes go by faster than you'd think. Vocals are standard FD growls not unlike Skepticism, albeit higher in the mix. All in all, a rather easy, pleasant listen considering the genre - I think I'd give it an 85 ("very good to excellent").

I have to mention this because it's one of a few seemingly unheralded albums that I enjoyed the hell out of last year, Hierophant and Full of Hell being two of the others. Maybe I didn't look hard enough but I found only one in-depth review online, which BTW was highly favorable. Archon, hailing from NYC and featuring two vocalists - a male who does only harsh vocals, and a female who does both clean and harsh - has a bit of the Neurosis/Isis post-metal vibe to them, though they're listed as stoner/sludge/doom on MA. Another album with insanely long (but worth it) songs, this one passes the 45-minute mark with a mere 4 tracks. Each one has a good deal of ebb and flow to it, and just enough unpredictability - including an almost D-beat-ish section at the beginning of Track 3 - to never get boring. In short, I enjoy this band a great deal, and I want to hear everything else by them. 85/100.

Meh. This left me feeling bored more than anything. Stylistically it is a toss up between Deicide and Morbid Angel (no surprise on that last one). My biggest problem is the stale and flat production; it robs the lurching riffs of their power. The drums sound particularly bad, pretty clicky and the performance itself is uninspired. Not necessarily a bad album, just a predictable and unremarkable one.

Hadn't given this one much of a listen, though I'd familiarized myself with other JI albums ('Heaven in Flames' especially) over the years. First impression is that it's pretty decent raw black metal, not as atmospheric as 'Heaven...' but put together well enough. Couple of 9-minute epics on here, including the final track which moseys along at a doom/dirge type tempo, and is also entitled 'Nietzsche' (didn't Andrew have a demo called 'Heidegger' as well?).

(actually i'm new at this, and also, my english is very limited, so believe me that i'm doing my best)

My first one would be...

Devirginated Genital Pulp - Mutilated (2003):

I never got so hooked with a brutal death album, the mix of a brutal (but "nice to the ear") sound and technical skill is all in here, also, since i was looking for a BDM album that actually had solos, it just left me without words, this one is just an unique piece of art, maybe the only things that dissapoint me are the guitars (i wish these could be more louder), the drumming is fine, and there's just quite nothing to complain about this album, the lyrics are ok.

I'm vaguely familiar with that Mutilated record - I like USBDM in general, but as I suppose you're probably aware of, most of the bands in that genre tend to all run together after a while. Different brutal death bands, oftentimes, are only distinguishable by production style, and sometimes not even that.

This one was an amazing surprise. While it takes heavy inspiration from Transivanian Hunger, a mere Darkthrone clone this is not. It takes the classic mold of 90's scandinavian bm, and pushes it to it's limits. The songs are simple and concise, barely have more than 3 riffs, although well played ones, no major tempo changes, and the vocal styles are reminiscent of those used in DSBM, with groans, maddened screams, whispers, etc. The album's strength lies in how masterfully crafted the songs are. The intensity of emotions portrayed in each song is matched by only a few out there.The first track is the definitive highlight. It starts with samples of various beasts gurgling in pain and anger, which then leads to an amazingly furious, fast-paced riff, complemented by a demented vocal performance. The song maintains the pace, but goes into a descent into madness, becoming more and more demented with. There is a tangible sense of desperate urgency to it, and it's incredible. A real black metal gem

Ultimately, the first song being so good kinda ruins the rest of album, as the other songs don't quite measure to it, but they are still excellent.

I recommend this to anyone who likes black metal. It will only take 13mins of your time anyway, but this is one of those gems that comes in small packages.

Unfortunately, guitarrist Wolfrano killed himself, and while the other members still maintain the band active, we probably won't hear anything quite like this if they do release more material.

The Black Dahlia Murder is the band that got me into metal, so I'm surprised that I've neglected to listen to this one for so long. TBDM did not disappoint! I would honestly say that this is their best work so far. I just love how they were able to combine this slightly heavier sound without sacrificing that beautiful melodic, lightning fast technical sound that got me hooked in the first place. The drumming is a step up from their previous work if you ask me and it really adds to the feel of the album as a whole. Any one who listens to TBDM knows those iconic sexy high and low vocals and on Everblack they are far more intense than ever before. Bad ass lyrics, and unique, catchy vocal melody. Every song on this album is amazing, but the ones that really get me are: Into the Everblack, Raped in Hatred by Vines of Thorn, Blood Mine, Map of Scars, and Suppuku. ________________________

Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of Inhumanity

I really enjoyed this album. Every thing is so fast paced and heavy, it just makes me want to throw a lamp across the room and run full speed into a wall, run up it and backflip off. I really admire the vocalists skills, great range and he can make some strangest noises ive ever heard. I dont think that I would say that it is an incredible album, but it is good. The biggest problem is that it got kind of boring, it didnt run out of steam or anything, but I just dont think that the songs had enough diversity. The blast beat is just constant and it becomes too much after a while. Good album, but it isnt the type of album that i could listen to all at once.

What a grower of an album! I first listened to it on Spotify at the end of December when they were streaming it and to be honest I was pretty iffy on it overall. I liked probably half of the songs pretty well and the other half I didn't care that much for, but now after having heard the album probably 6-7 times it has really grown on me quite a lot! The drums on this release are very up front in the mix (a great thing IMO) and sound awesome and punchy as hell. The leads are exquisite as well! The only thing lacking a bit in my opinion is the rhythm parts, they aren't as "badass" as they have been in the past and Stu's voice isn't as good as it was on Dystopia (but that is TOTALLY subjective because I really liked his range on that album and on this album he has opted to try different things which I totally respect) but I still do enjoy them for the most part. Overall a pretty damn solid release and I can't wait to see them May 2nd. (It will be my first time).

Just listened to my Noothgrush/Coffins split LP again today. One of the finest examples of crusty, sludgy DOOM I can think of, between these two bands. NG's sound hasn't changed noticeably since the 90's, aside from perhaps incorporating a bit more melody - the songs' main riffs are still crushing as ever though - while Coffins if anything have turned even more towards the primitive crust-punk side, sounding a little like a hideous, mutated Amebix at times. As much as I loved Coffins's 'Fleshland' full-length from 2013, the split material rivals it at the least, if not surpassing it. If you like either band (and have a turntable) then you should've bought this already!

I've been listening to this one multiple times a day for the past couple of weeks and it's definitely an album that grows on you. There is a unique organic delicateness to the droning heavy-bone-crushing drawn out passages this act creates and the harsh guttural vocal work is quite astounding and varied. Above all, I'd describe this album as being essentially a living breathing creature, with emotions and thought patterns that ebb and flow throughout its duration. These guys do sludge tinted doom right, and bring something new to the table with their introspective psychedelic flourishes. Love this shit.

_________________Drink and drive, I drink and driveGot mothers against me I'm still alive

I downloaded this one and deleted it a year ago. For some reason, I felt compelled to go back to it yesterday. It definitely does grow on you. Very drawn out, dramatic power metal. Soaring vocals. And I mean SOARING with layer upon layer underneath them. Usually, this doesn't really affect me....but the gimmick of this album is ANCIENT ROME! Score! It all comes together quite perfectly especially since the guys are from Greece. The tracks drive forward like an army marching, especially the first 2 with lines like "You can't stop the Roman phalanx" getting pinned in your head. The vocal tone seems to strive for Bruce Dickinson or Geoff Tate but not exactly. Maybe even some Byff Byfford thrown in. I can't think of any other popular examples.

My only complaints are the lame instrumentals done with 'traditional' period instruments. They kill the momentum of the metal tunes and are sprinkled all over the tracklist.

Not quite as intense as Ex Deo but goes nicely Sacred Gate's Tides of Blood.

I picked this up at my local record shop and had no idea what to expect. I have been in a HUGE black metal mood for the past few months after discovering its beauty around the same time (few months ago). I got home and quickly put it in to hear what I got myself into and was so pleasantly surprised! I had heard the name before and it was only met with good remarks, but I never thought I would have loved it this much. The black metal part of it is good, varied, and nicely recorded which compliments the parts of ambiance and/or atmosphere (Track 1 and the first half of track 3). Since then I've listened to it twice more, all in one sitting, and can't find a single thing wrong with the album! It lulls me into a trance where I see myself exploring a huge forest.

I have had this album for a while but it is one of my favorites and find myself listening to it all the time. This IMO is their best album. Serious riffage, awesome solos, gnarly vocals. The perfect blend of thrash metal and black metal.The recording quality is solid as fuck, too. Everything is mixed very well, no instrument drowning out the other. The vocals echo just enough to set the perfect atmosphere. The album is fast as fuck and ferocious enough to melt the skin from your bones.This album is perfect. Start to finish.

This album remains what it was from the moment recording wrapped: one of the great masterpieces of the metal art. The secret here is guitarist and creative main-man Alf Svensson's basic approach to composition. Most metal bands use the rhythm section to forge the basic structure of their songs. It's a popular method because it works. The downside is that the reliance on rhythm means you get diminishing returns for complexity; once you pass the tipping point, songs can only become more complex by being less coherent. Svensson's approach instead creates structure primarily from the unfolding and development of melody, freeing the band to hit us with an overwhelming barrage of (sweet, delicious) riffs without falling into the "riff salad" trope that doomed so many death metal bands to permanent second-tier status, allowing them to deploy rhythm in more creative, subversive ways without drifting off into incoherence. Top class stuff.

Not too shabby. Sort of a vicious mix of early morbid angel and angelcorpse and the band seems very comfortable being just that. What makes this album stand out for me though, is the overt mechanical precision and coldness of the music. It's very easy to envision a well-oiled behemoth of a war machine rolling over any and all adversaries that may stand in its path throughout its duration. This is definitely a case of an album's lyrical themes and imagery matching pretty flawlessly with the music they create, and, above all, despite its unoriginality--it's a fun listen.

_________________Drink and drive, I drink and driveGot mothers against me I'm still alive

Full disclosure, only one of these albums is metal, though the Koenjihyakkei definitely has metal-aspects (such as the guitar tone). But listening to these bands this week, and all three are bringing a very old folk-influence to very new styles of rock music. Storm's is Viking metal w/Fenriz and Satyr, and reminds me of the folk metal in Fenriz's Isengard -- sort of like beer-drinking songs coupled with BM-sounding guitars. Very clean production, and the vocals are totally in the spirit of the songs. I don't understand a word of it, but it doesn't really matter, because the feel is what's most important (similar to BM itself).

Similarly, the Magma record is outright prog, though very unique in practice, influenced as much by classical composers like Stravinsky and Bartok as by any prog or rock act. Christian Vander sings in a made-up language called Kobaian, and (supposedly) sings about the end of the world, aliens...pretty out there stuff, but Magma as a band was never less than utterly convincing in their dedication to being a) unique and b) single-mindedly bizarre. Japan's Koenjihyakkei is almost like a Magma tribute band, but using 90s ideas of what was heavy, such as ridiculoulsy complex time signatures, metal guitar and banshee-wailing for singing. Interestingly, all three bands also feature male/female vox.

All three bands sound like some kind of pagan/folk war music from the heavens, and got me thinking about what exactly makes something "folk" sounding -- the simplicity of melodies, over even very complex music, especially when doubled by multiple instruments (Storm: guitar+vox, Magma: guitar/keys/bass+vox, Koenji: everything+vox, and also lots of interplay with drums) is part of it. When you remove harmony from the equation, you get a very primal duo of melody + rhythm, which I guess any society in the middle ages could produce. flutes & drums, voices + drums, chanted vocals, etc.

After the first two listens (one mp3's, the other vinyl) this has pretty much blown me away. For being a relatively mid-tempo band (by black/thrash metal standards) these guys have incredible energy and forward momentum in their songs, almost reminding me of a thrashier Angelcorpse at times. Forgive the hyperbole, but it almost reminds me of hearing 'South of Heaven' (the whole album) for the first time at 15 - which was probably when I first realized that a relatively slow metal band could kick just as much ass as 'Reign in Blood' etc. etc. That, of course, led me first to Neurosis and Eyehategod, then to the point that sludge/doom is now one of my very favorite metal genres.

Sorry to get off-topic there a bit, but yeah, this D666 album rules. That's the important part, really. Overall it's probably more thrash than black, but there's enough Scandinavian harshness (in the vocals especially) to make these guys roughly comparable to the thrashier Norse BM bands like Nifelheim or Aura Noir. Add the fact that the vinyl (which is translucent red and looks amazing) cost me less than 12 bucks including shipping, I'd say I scored big time!

Since this board hates all things catchy and traditional - I present the new Sabaton single that has leaked to YouTube! No one else is talking about it and it's very interesting. The song is based on the life of Audie Murphy, the most decorated U.S. soldier in history who went on to star as himself in war/cowboy movies in the 50s after WW2.

The band attempts a 'spaghetti western' theme but since it's european power metal, it comes off as way more Irish and jaunty. But the classic bombast and emotion of a typical Sabaton chorus hits and it is still fucking awesome.

Stop trying to be edgy. The board truly hates the trad metal you like (aka the modern, asinine and overproduced one) but it likes the genre a lot, the heavy/power/speed thread is the most popular topic in the Rec Central so go do some partying and shit.

Since this board hates all things catchy and traditional - I present the new Sabaton single that has leaked to YouTube! No one else is talking about it and it's very interesting. The song is based on the life of Audie Murphy, the most decorated U.S. soldier in history who went on to star as himself in war/cowboy movies in the 50s after WW2.

The band attempts a 'spaghetti western' theme but since it's european power metal, it comes off as way more Irish and jaunty. But the classic bombast and emotion of a typical Sabaton chorus hits and it is still fucking awesome.

The song will be officially released on April 1st!

Sabaton is a mediocre band, and your taste is absolute dog shit. The board actually loves plenty of catchy and traditional things - you know, music with integrity that isn't just the brainless work out music with war lyrics you like.

I've been digging this album since release in February, and damn, it just doesn't stop giving. Every moment of the crazy guitarwork is a thrill. To me it's kind of like Rust in Peace-era Megadeth was mixed with Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Angelo Batio, so on top of the lightning-fast riffing, the shredding was given an extensive course in Mozart and pumped full of crack cocaine. I'd kill to see these guys make another (original) instrumental like Axes of War with how much they've developed as musicians since In Hatred's Flame. The only thing I'd like to see more of is some complex drum fills. I feel like the drumming is a bit underutilized.

Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper

While these guys get alot of shit, and for reasons that I do understand, I still can't help but love their music. Follow the Reaper is a fucking great record, just chock full of speed and great melodies and riffs, and Alexi's solos and shrieking vocals on top of it all. Right now I'm seriously addicted to Mask of Sanity. The combination of that keyboard intro and then the riff smashing into you is... unf.

_________________That is not dead which can eternal lieAnd with strange aeons even death may die

Forgive the hyperbole, but this might be the most epic death metal album in over a decade. I can only compare the atmosphere to Incantation's 'Mortal Throne,' and the songwriting to Suffo's 'Pierced From Within,' and their general approach as always resembles Neurosis gone DM. Try to imagine the two aforementioned albums blended together on "liquify" with 'Through Silver in Blood' and you might be somewhere close to what this sounds like. Absolutely crushing, devastating, apocalyptic metal, with enormous, bottomless riffs that wash over you like the heavier parts of "Through Silver..." (the title track). Truly the best record I heard all last year, in any genre or format.

I really have to check that Ulcerate record out. They are playing here (Michigan) next month and I would like to be more familiar with Vermis. The previous two records were absolutely stunning. Plus the drums are some of the best the genre have to offer.

Hannes Grossman - The Radial Covenant

The solo album by former Necrophagist and current Obscura drummer, Hannes Grossman. What an excellent piece of music this is. It is very similar in sound to Obscura, but it also has keyboards added to the mix. Hannes handles all drum and rhythm guitar. He even plays a couple of the solos. Hannes writes the majority of the Obscura material as well. Such a talented individual. Vocal duties are handled by V.Santura (Triptykon/Dark Fortress) and Morean (Noneuclid/Dark Fortress). Guest solos are performed by Jeff Loomis, Per Nilsson, Danny Tunker, Fountainhead, and Christian Muenzner. The songs on this album cover all sorts of ground. It is techy, progressive, and melodic. Some definite classic metal influence is in the mix. Morean's semi-clean vocals are awesome as well. I highly recommend this to any metal fans. Will be interesting to hear what the next Obscura album sounds like, considering how similar in style this is to Omnivium.

This has always been a nostalgic album for me due to memories I have had while listening to it, so I've been revisiting it quite a bit lately. Orange Goblin have never went for re-inventing the wheel or playing outside of their comfort zone, but this album carries a bit more of their brash punk influence and thus stands out as one of their strongest releases. Blending a good helping of Motörhead and Danzig era Misfits with overt Sabbathian and Kyuss like groove the music certainly drips with a "don't give a fuck" attitude and rolls along in an energetic fashion that makes it an almost perfect soundtrack for getting stupid drunk and that's where all of its charm resides. It's also a fantastic driving companion. Simple attitude fueled caveman stoner metal at its most fun for sure.

_________________Drink and drive, I drink and driveGot mothers against me I'm still alive

Last edited by doomicus on Sun Apr 13, 2014 12:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

From what I've read of Venom articles, "Possessed" was the one that was singled out as a let down from among the releases from the original lineup. Hearing the album for the first time ever, there wasn't much deviation from the expected Venom fare of dirty, sloppy proto-thrash metal. And I guess this was the reason why the critics during its time of release: the album failed to advance Venom's music. Actually, "Possessed" was a throwback to the first two albums, which is still good because the sleazy charm of their earlier material was what got them attention in the first place. However, this prevented Venom from stepping into the next level of greatness. This also allowed the bands that it influenced (Metallica, Slayer) to overtake them by producing more musically advanced efforts.

But make no mistake: "Possessed" is still a good Venom album. However it will still be remembered as the album that stalled their careers and broke up the original lineup.

I had been meaning to get around to listening to this album for a while, amd just did yesterday. I've gotta say, I feel sort of disappointed in it. It wasn't necessarily a bad album, it just felt forgettable. Bland. I liked Sleeping Stars and Death and the Healing, but none of the other songs stopd out to me that much. I ended up getting distracted during the middle of Starchild and so I didn't finish listening to it- perhaps I'll go back and finish it to see if any of the other songs stand out.

Katatonia - Night is the New Day

This is a good album- albeit, I haven't listened to all of it yet. I tried listening to the whole album in one run, and called it quits during Onward Onto Battle. One thing I've discovered with Katatonia is I simply can't listen to that many of their songs at once. They're one of my favorite bands, and they're a unique experience- it takes time for each song to grow on me, but when it does, it's an amazing feeling. So far I've listened to Forsaker, The Longest Year, The Promise of Deceit and Inheritance way too many times. I'm breaking apart the album, and I have not been disappointed yet.

captaincrunchy wrote:

Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper

While these guys get alot of shit, and for reasons that I do understand, I still can't help but love their music. Follow the Reaper is a fucking great record, just chock full of speed and great melodies and riffs, and Alexi's solos and shrieking vocals on top of it all. Right now I'm seriously addicted to Mask of Sanity. The combination of that keyboard intro and then the riff smashing into you is... unf.

FTR is amazing- so is CoB in general, for that matter. I love the keyboards and Alexi's guitar work. I'm working on learning Bed of Razors (off of Hatebreeder), and it took me hours to even be able to play the first riff at the proper speed.

When a listener evolves from the progressive metal/rock lineage into this genre the most recognizable element of Emperor's music has to be the keyboards. Fascinating how their constructs sound very similar to 70s prog, quite unconventional in their pitch progression that they prefer to rise abnormally but instead of travelling back down they abruptly switch to an altogether different rhythm. Emperor sustains this assault on your conceptions regarding 'melody' that once you are done with the record most of the mental musical constructs you had would have expanded (or exploded) in all the possible directions.